Travel Log: Terre Haute, Indiana

Travel Log: Terre Haute, Indiana

Sister Clare Lawlor, CSA

July 14, 2016

The Nuns on the Bus came to Terre Haute, Indiana where we participated in a Caucus to Mend the Gaps at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. We were very warmly welcomed by the community.

Sister Simone greeted the large groups of caucus participants, grouped at tables labeled by the Nuns on the Bus gap and access issues. As she does at every caucus, Simone asked the group some “buzz” questions to get the conversation started. We all discussed the divides in the local community.

We then had small group conversation, after which the groups reported out the need for more jobs that pay a living wage, and the need for re-tooling workers for today’s jobs. The healthcare group raised the issue of child hunger, and we learned that 60-65% of children in the area suffer from food insecurity. The group asked “Why is this happening in our community?”

From the housing group, we learned that many local people need to work two or three jobs to afford housing, which results in less time available to support their family in ways other than financial.

The absolute interconnectedness of all of the issues was a key learning from the evening. At the end of the evening, caucus participants committed to mending the gaps together, and signed the bus as a demonstration of their commitment.